Madison News

Wis. Fort to Furlough 900 Civilian Workers

by Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ A western Wisconsin military base is set to furlough about 900 civilian employees as a result of the federal government shutdown.

Linda Fournier is a spokeswoman for Fort McCoy, a sprawling training installation that lies between Sparta and Tomah. She says workers were in their offices Tuesday morning changing voicemails and emails and completing their last time cards. They are expected to be gone by this afternoon. The fort's commissary will close starting Wednesday.

Fournier says the fort's deer hunt for disabled people will go on as scheduled this weekend because contractors are running the event. Training for a South Dakota Army National Guard unit that just arrived at the fort will go on as scheduled, too. The fort's campground also will remain open.